This book presents and critically analyses two sources of factual information on the Irish criminal justice system: the official statistical picture of crime and punishment from 1973 to 1991 and the results of a comprehensive survey of the personal, social and criminal backgrounds of a large representative sample of Mountjoy prisoners. The Irish situation with respect to crime and punishment and to prisoners is described and interpreted in a context of international comparison. Trends in both crime and punishment over the past two decades are examined. This book focuses on the important policy implications arising from an analysis of available factual material with special emphasis on the pivotal issue of sentencing policy and on the key question of the role of social deprivation and disadvantage in the generation of crime. Attention also is paid to the factors within the criminal justice system which promote chaos and breakdown and to possible improvements and remedies. The final chapter highlights the more important findings arising from the examination of general trends in crime and punishment and from the survey of Mountjoy prisoners, attempting to integrate them into a coherent picture of the current situation. It attempts to draw out the important implications for major issues such as sentencing policy, the relation between social deprivation and crime, recidivism, and the objectives of imprisonment. Tables, references, index